The green grass on the wall leaned backward, swaying with laughter. Dust flew in all directions, rampant under the sunlight.
If this wall were just one meter shorter, it could probably be climbed over. Mo Zi, covered in dust and dirt, could only gaze and sigh. Just one day late, and Xiao Yi had gone off somewhere to play. She’d been imitating cat calls outside the wall for ages, even attracting a stray cat to wander around, yet there wasn’t a peep from inside the wall.
Could Qiu Sanniang have already married? As she thought this, her heart went through three stages in succession: shock, joy, and calm.
First was shock—suddenly feeling lost, with a sense of not knowing where to go. The first person she saw when she woke up after severe injury and memory loss was Qiu Sanniang—had she developed a familial dependency on her? But that couldn’t be. To say she was lazy and content with the status quo was something she could admit to that degree. Moreover, she felt more like family with Bai He and the others. As for Qiu Sanniang, she’d never been able to pinpoint the relationship. Sometimes she felt her nature was quite good, but sometimes she was deliberately bad enough to make Mo Zi want to flee far away immediately.
Then came joy. If Qiu Sanniang had left, naturally she wouldn’t need to return to Qiu Mansion. If Qiu Sanniang abandoned her and left, there should be no reason to report her to the authorities as an escaped maid. It seemed the opportunity for freedom had arrived.
Finally calming down, Mo Zi couldn’t help but laugh at herself for overthinking. She’d just asked Manager Cen at Wangqiu Tower—in recent days, Qiu Sanniang had only sent him one message, which was to prepare the dowry and the people to carry the bridal boxes. Such a major event as the eldest daughter of Qiu Mansion marrying into the capital—there was no reason everyone wouldn’t know. Moreover, she still had a handle on Qiu Sanniang’s little temperamental nature. Sharp-tongued and crafty in personality, yet she was someone who could be trusted with matters. Since she’d promised to resolve the trouble with taking the maid as a concubine, she would certainly do it. Taking ten thousand steps back, Xiao Erlang had only just returned to Luo City. She guessed that in this Xiao family wedding escort, he represented the groom’s side to maintain face. If he hadn’t left, it meant Concubine Wei hadn’t left, which meant Qiu Sanniang naturally hadn’t left either.
Thus, after waiting most of an hour as the sky gradually darkened, Mo Zi decided to change back into women’s clothes and go through the main gate. Upon reaching the entrance, she saw bright red double happiness characters pasted on the east main gate of Qiu Mansion, with red lanterns and red couplets—so festively red. Qiu Sanniang’s marriage seemed set in stone and would proceed to the end.
Mo Zi knocked the door ring and heard a familiar voice transmitting through the door crack, cautiously suppressed and low, asking who it was.
“Er Ya, is that you? It’s me, Mo Zi.” Usually when she knocked, whoever it was would open the door first—what was different today?
The heavy main gate didn’t budge an inch. Beside it, a small door that servants used for passage creaked open a crack.
Er Ya poked out half his head. Seeing it really was Mo Zi, he grinned and beckoned to her, “Good sister, you’re finally back! Come in quickly.”
As soon as Mo Zi walked in, she saw Er Ya immediately shut the door firmly, then rubbed his hands while looking toward the garden direction, appearing quite nervous.
Thinking that Xiao Yi, who should have met her, also hadn’t appeared, her heart skipped a beat. She immediately said, “I’ve only been away from the mansion a few days, but stepping in, I feel strangely distant. Er Ya, tell me about any major or minor events first, so I don’t rashly enter the garden and offend someone.”
“Sister, your feeling is right on target.” Er Ya looked around to confirm no one was nearby. He wanted to grab Mo Zi’s sleeve but didn’t dare be presumptuous, so he scratched his head. “Third Miss is betrothed to the Third Young Master of Prince Jing’s Mansion in the capital—you already know that, so we won’t mention it. Let’s talk about Manager Tian first. A couple days ago, he suddenly went to Fourth Master saying he was getting old and hoped to return home to retire. Just like that, he received Fourth Master’s grace—his indenture contract was burned right in front of us. Yesterday after finishing his last day, he drank quite a lot with us. Then, guess what?”
“What?” Er Ya was mistaken—she knew about this.
“This morning, I went to his house to deliver things, but how strange—that courtyard was already empty, not a soul there, like a ghost house.” Er Ya patted his bony small chest, still frightened.
“What’s there to be afraid of? After drinking last night, he moved this morning.” Manager Tian was someone Mo Zi had promoted to handle matters for Qiu Sanniang.
Qiu Sanniang saw Manager Tian was loyal. With her marrying out and unable to trust the people Zhang Shi gave her, she told him to bring his whole family to the capital with her. Manager Tian’s usually foul mouth had offended many of Fourth Master Qiu’s guests. Though demoted to the gate house, he never restrained himself, but he was an old hand who’d stayed in the mansion over twenty years and had served as an attendant before Old Master Qiu, so he couldn’t be dismissed casually. When he wanted to leave himself, why would Fourth Master Qiu still care about redemption silver? He quickly considered it a good deed and burned the indenture contract. Having gained freedom and with a new position, why would Manager Tian linger? Of course he rushed to handle the matters Qiu Sanniang had assigned him.
“The old fellow left without saying another word to me, and I treated him like my own uncle.” Er Ya’s words were insincere. In private, he often complained that being partnered with Manager Tian dragged him down and cost him opportunities to get close to the masters.
Mo Zi understood perfectly in her heart but said aloud, “Exactly. But who cares about him? Now that he’s gone, if you do well, you’ll be promoted very soon.”
Who doesn’t love hearing what they want to hear? Er Ya was so happy he laughed foolishly, quickly forgetting all directions.
Mo Zi saw it was about right. “Er Ya, you were so nervous just opening and closing the door—what’s going on?”
“The steward instructed that once it gets dark, the main gate must be bolted. When people come, we must ask clearly who they are. If they don’t have a calling card, absolutely don’t let them in. So I have to be especially careful. This job really isn’t easy—always caught between two sides.” Er Ya looked around again, moved slightly closer to Mo Zi, and revealed very quietly, “Sister, I really shouldn’t spread this to others—it’s only because it’s you that I’m telling.”
Mo Zi softly uttered an acknowledgment.
“Not long ago, I recognized a steward matron in the garden as my godmother.” Er Ya was quite thoughtful and action-oriented. “The day before yesterday, I went to her house to get some wine. She was chatting idly with me, and in her drunken state, she let slip something. You know Ai Lian in Fourth Master’s quarters is pregnant? I’m telling you, sister, that’s not Fourth Master’s child. Sleeping with another man—in ordinary circumstances, that’s not particularly rare. But sleeping with her brother-in-law, and the one in her belly is also the brother-in-law’s—now that’s serious. If this kind of thing gets out, forget the masters—even us servants would lose face. People who don’t know would think the whole mansion has no rules, everyone running wild together.”
Those who knew about this matter were probably quite a few people in secret. That Fifth Master Qiu liked to fool around in the rockery—that was no secret. However, for this to be exposed now, other than Qiu Sanniang, she couldn’t think of anyone else. It’s just that, at the risk of ruining the entire Qiu Mansion’s reputation, was Qiu Sanniang really doing this for her?
From Er Ya’s fragmentary words, Mo Zi couldn’t figure it out.
Pretending to be very shocked, she covered her mouth. “This matter—it can’t be true, right? Ai Lian counts as half a mistress. Why would she give up a good life to be with Fifth Master—”
“This matter is no lie—Fifth Master himself confessed to Madam. Fourth Master has been wearing a dark face these past two days, and the people serving him have taken quite a few kicks. I saw it with my own eyes—the two brothers are quite strained. When Fifth Master comes, Fourth Master leaves. When Fourth Master stays, Fifth Master doesn’t dare remain. Originally I was puzzled, but connecting it to this matter, everything became clear. Also, the physician came twice yesterday. I quietly asked him, and he just shook his head, only saying it was pitiful. I reckon Ai Lian’s child was probably aborted.” Though Er Ya was young, what he should understand, he understood just as well.
“Your words are wrong from the start. Even if Fifth Master really had something with Ai Lian, how could he easily confess? If this goes wrong, they couldn’t even be brothers anymore.” Mo Zi continued trying to dig deeper. She could also ask Qiu Sanniang, but asking a few more people was never wrong.
“Sister doesn’t know this, right? Fifth Master—he’s taken a fancy to Third Miss’s senior maid, Bai He.” Er Ya indeed knew more than Mo Zi.
Boom—Mo Zi’s head exploded. What? Fifth Master Qiu had taken a fancy to Bai He? How could that be? Bai He had grown up in Qiu Mansion from childhood. All these years, Fifth Master Qiu had never set his sights on her—how could he suddenly become interested? Setting aside that Fifth Master Qiu, influenced by his mother, rarely looked properly at Qiu Sanniang and those around her, given Fifth Master Qiu’s infamous reputation, Bai He not only often warned them to never catch the eye in front of Fifth Master Qiu, she herself was very careful to appear uninteresting. It had clearly been peaceful for so long, yet was overturned in one day. What exactly was Qiu Sanniang planning to do?
“Speaking of coincidence, if not for Safety Matron getting kicked by Fifth Master and injuring his back so he’s still lying in bed, it wouldn’t have been my godmother’s turn to serve outside the main hall. She personally heard Madam tell Fifth Master that if he didn’t tell the truth, he could forget about the Bai He matter. Fifth Master seemed so bewitched by Sister Bai He that he wasn’t clear-headed, plus relying on Madam’s indulgence, he told everything truthfully. Madam was so angry she fainted on the spot. Fourth Mistress was calling for people in the room, and my godmother was the first to enter, helping Madam to lie down in the inner chamber.” The more Er Ya spoke, the more animated he became. “Sister, do you think this matter could be false? As for Fourth Master and Fifth Master, being blood brothers from the same mother, they’re strained now, but they’ll be fine after a while. The matter doesn’t sound good, but when it comes down to it, Ai Lian is just a maid without name or status. Now that the child has been removed, isn’t she easy to dismiss?”
“Er Ya.” Mo Zi’s voice also lowered.
“Sister, what is it?” Er Ya asked urgently.
“You’re very clever. I think you’ll have prospects too. However, since you call me sister, let me teach you. From now on, be more careful in all matters. Even with people you trust, you must know when to keep your mouth tightly shut. If this matter truly spreads outside the mansion and the masters investigate who spoke of it, if they trace it to you, forget having one godmother—even ten godmothers couldn’t save your life. I’ll pretend I didn’t hear what I just heard. You only opened a door for me just now and said nothing else. Moreover, never mention it to anyone again, including the masters. This matter must rot in your own belly. Do you understand?” This was for Er Ya’s good, even more for the soon-to-be-married Qiu Sanniang’s good, and ultimately for her own good. Mo Zi spoke against her heart without the slightest shame.
“Sister…” Er Ya stammered, but seeing Mo Zi’s cold glance, he understood. He hurriedly bowed and stepped back. “Yes, Er Ya understands.”
Mo Zi said no more. She reached out to take down a celebratory lantern, turned, and walked toward the garden.
Er Ya stared blankly at Mo Zi’s graceful figure, then slapped his own head hard and muttered to himself, “Truly, a celestial person. Manager Tian was absolutely right—Er Ya, you’re just a toad lusting after swan meat.”
The rolling black night could never swallow the light of the great red celebratory lantern, which kept its distance from the person carrying it with respect.
Before long, several bright yellow glass lanterns suddenly appeared, hurrying through the corridor—heading in the same direction as the celebratory lantern.